One of the most critical parts of a vacation rental operation is communicating with guests. Having excellent communication skills, you will convey your respect to guests’ inquiries and feedbacks and enhance the guest experience. But communicating with guests is also one of the most time-consuming segments of this business. In this regard, few listing platforms like Airbnb have developed a feature to automate communications through a scheduled messages tool. But is there any Vrbo automated messaging service as well?
The short answer is NO. In fact, Vrbo renders a few relevant services. However, it is not exactly what we expect from a fully automated messaging feature. The automated messaging system usually includes reminders, thank you letters, and scheduled before/after booking and check-in/out messages.
But for the time being, Vrbo does not employ an automated messaging system. Having said that, there are a number of ways to fully automate outgoing communications to guests at various points in the booking process.
To thoroughly explore this concept, let’s take a quick look at the relevant messaging services of Vrbo.
Table of Contents
Vrbo Welcome Message
To enhance the guest experience, Vrbo sends an automated welcome guide seven days before check-in. This email contains all the details guests should know about their stay.
So, you don’t have to take care of sending welcome letters for every booking you receive from Vrbo. This information is also accessible through the Vrbo app and the web, and it’s sent only to guests who have confirmed their reservations.
For each property of yours, you can prepare a welcome message that includes information, such as:
- The Host contact details
- The property’s directions and location
- Instructions for parking
- Check-in and check-out guide
- Guidance to using amenities like laundry
Vrbo Secure Messaging
Vrbo offers mediated pre-booking communication to secure conversations between potential guests and the host. The aim is to prevent sharing unnecessary information between the host and guest before confirming a booking.
When answering the booking requests through Vrbo secure messaging, two templates are utilised automatically. Once the property is available upon the guest request, the “Available Template” is used; otherwise, the “Non-available Template” is applied.
Templates contain editable plain texts, but you can’t add email addresses, phone numbers, logos, images, and HTML text. If you use these contents, they will be automatically removed from the message to keep the conversation secure.
Vrbo Email Templates
As you know, using email templates saves a considerable amount of time. To streamline communicating with guests and easily follow an email sequence, Vrbo has provided easy-to-use email templates.
You can name each template whatever you want, as only you can see the title of the email template. By doing so, you can quickly locate the template you wish to use. Vrbo also allows you to add attachments to the templates. This feature is very useful, especially for check-in emails that should contain check-in instructions.
How Can I Automate All Guest Messaging on Vrbo?
Don’t know how to automate all Vrbo messages? Your channel manager and PMS can make it possible for you. Many Property Management Systems provide an automated messaging service as part of their software. So you can easily sync messages between Vrbo and your PMS. Your PMS can also offer valuable integrations with some auto-messaging tools, such as ClickSend, to make the process more straightforward.
Moreover, some PMSes implement a unified inbox to communicate the right messages at the right time to the right guest. A unified inbox can organise all the emails and messages from different booking platforms, including Vrbo, into a single feed. Thus, you can set all sorts of emails and SMS, from booking confirmations to review reminders, through the unified inbox.
Aside from some unique messaging services like the automated ‘Welcome’ message, there is no particular Vrbo automated messaging system. However, a professional Property Management System can make it through. By accessing many resources and using the latest hospitality tools, a PMS can regulate SMS and emails from various listing sites, making your real estate business more efficient.
